A security raid in western Mexico turned into an all-out, three-hour gunbattle between police and army on one side and drug cartel thugs on the other. At least 37 armed civilians and two federal police officers have been shot dead.

The shootout took place in Mexico’s western state of Jalisco, at
a private 112-hectare ranch, reportedly called Rancho del Sol
(Sun Ranch), where drug dealers made their last stand. The number
of victims makes it one of the deadliest shootouts in modern
Mexican history.

National Security Commissioner Monte Alejandro Rubido told
journalists that all the dead were suspected criminals, but for
one law enforcement officer, who was shot dead while attempting
to provide medical assistance to a wounded colleague, Associated
Press reported. The wounded officer died after the statement was
made.

On Friday morning a joint police and army raid in the
municipality of Tanhauto, on the border between Jalisco and
Michoacan states, was checking a tipoff on some suspicious
activities at a local ranch, Rubido said.

Arriving at the place, police encountered a truck full of armed
men, who opened fire on them first and then attempted to flee.
The assailants were chased to the gates of a big ranch which
turned out to be swarming with gang men, all carrying guns. Those
“started to attack [the police] with intensity,” Rubido
said.

The police patrol called for backup, and more officers, army
servicemen and a police helicopter arriving at the scene and
besieging the ranch.

A fierce gunbattle lasted for three hours and ended with the
destruction of the criminal group, with 37 of them being killed
and just three being captured alive, according to AFP. Other
reports put the death toll among the gang at 40.

Police have retrieved an arsenal of firearms from the ranch,
including 36 semi-automatic rifles, a grenade launcher that was
used on law enforcement and a .50-calibre rifle, plus some small
firearms.

Rubido said the killed suspects were members of “a criminal
organization operating in Jalisco state,” without
elaborating further. AP identified Jalisco New Generation (JNG)
as the drug cartel that dominates the state.

Photos from the scene of the gunbattle show many dead bodies with
guns lying nearby, pools of blood among sleeping bags on the
patio of the ranch’s main building and a number of burned out
vehicles.

The disproportion in number of criminal and police casualties
resemble a lot another similar incident that took place a year
ago. On June 30, 2014, a shootout between Mexican army troops and
alleged criminals left 22 suspects dead and one soldier wounded.
An independent investigation conducted by the AP at the time
maintained that some criminals were shot dead after they
surrendered.

Mexican police are known for using extreme force when dealing
with the cartel. Some mass killings have taken place in the
anti-drug war in recent weeks.

In April, JNG hitmen ambushed a police convoy in Jalisco, killing
15 officers and wounding five more. In May, the JNG used a rocket
launcher to shoot down a military helicopter in Jalisco, killing
eight people aboard.

An offshoot from a previous cartel, Sinaloa, Jalisco New
Generation has gained power and influence as the Mexican
government has launched its war on drugs and made the old cartels
bleed considerably over the last few years. However, JNG has not
given in to the government’s efforts and even made some gains,
grabbing rival cartels’ territory and taking over their supply
chains.